Quote:The wobble, more than likely, was due to the pavement texture. Maybe it had rain grooves? That would account for it.

It may have been. They are repaving sections and then grinding then down all along that road. Can't remember if it happen there yet.
The front wheel may have been turned a bit when the rear locked. Happened so damn fast.
Once it was locked it stayed locked until the bike felt under control. I was fully aware of the danger of releasing it at a bad time.
That wobble started like right now! I just wasn't sure that a skidding rear would do that.

 

First glad your safe!

I know I probably sound like a broken record (and yes I'm dateing myself by useing that term) but these types of almost accidents are easily avoided if peolpe would only take the time to learn and PRACTICE emergency maneuveres. Taking a rider safety course is not enough if you don't practice! Practicing emergency brakeing, when it's safe to do so, is the fastest way that you are going to learn how much pressure to apply to braks before lock up and how to sense lock up and release brakes before bike slides into a dangerous position. (rear of bike to the side etc.) Practice emergency lane changes, (countersteering) again, first at slow speeds then progressing to higher. Practice timing your following distance.

Now I know many people are going to say that these things will come automaticly and that you learn them just by riding.........The trouble is with this kind of thinking is, how many close calls will you have before you perfect these maneuvers......will all of them end up as close calls......or some in actual accidents? Consiuosly thinking of these things and through repetition is the fastest way for them to become ingrained, automatic...and thats what it needs to be in a panic situation. AUTOMATIC.

I can be kinda of smart a## and joke around on some topics...but when it comes to peoples safety I feel it's too important and I know that practicing these maneuveres has saved my life quite a few times over the years.......I have been riding for 40 years on the street. Not as long as some, but longer then others.......Never been down...doesn't mean I won't in the future.....But had I not practiced, I would have been down in the past.

OK...enough ranting......but as long as I ride I will continue to hone my skills...continue learning.....and yes....PRACTICE.

Ride Safe

 

Well it boils down to Maximum braking before lock up... hard to judge in a panic situation. ABS would have prevented the lock up or at least a continued lock up as it will lock release lock release very rapidly allowing you to maintain some traction. Stop faster? theoretically it should but remember the lock unlock cycle. you have very little braking action with a locked wheel compared to a wheel under maximum brake load w/o lockup. Hard to say. What to do ? Hard to tell your body to do something in a panic situation but ease off brake a bit and give more brake to front. But you don't want to lock that up either! Catch 22 You didn't go down so you did good.

 

+1 On going to a clean parking lot and practice, practice, practice your emergency stops. In an emergency situation, you are on autopilot. You don't have time to think, you just do. You need to make doing the right things your automated response.

As for what you might have done in your situation, other than adding some distance... You might have let go of the brakes then re-applied them - depends how much wobble you're talking about. If it was pretty extreme, staying on the brake was likely the best response.

Another thing you learned here had to do with cresting a hill, and glare from the sun. If you're doing 80 on the interstate, in morning traffic, as you approach a blind hill, ease off the throttle a bit (and tap your brakes a couple of times - enough to light them up, to let the car behind you know you are slowing). I'm not saying drop it to 50 - just a little is enough - maybe 70. It gives you a little more time to deal with it if you run into a problem on the other side.

Braking rather than maneuvering. What was the situation in the right lane? Might you have quickly moved to the right lane rather than extreme braking? If not, how about setting yourself up (when possible) as you're approaching a blind hill at 80 mph? Position yourself by speeding up a little or slowing down a little, so if you need to move to the right, you can. Not always possible, but adds another option when it is possible.

I don't recommend lane splitting, but, in an emergency situation, it can save your *** and give you a lot more room. The car ahead of you was moving left to avoid the situation - that gave you a lot of room to go to the right, or even go past him. Even if he hadn't moved left, you could have used this "additional lane". That would open you up to some additional dangers and is certainly among your last choices - only done if the situation is so extreme as to warrant the additional risk.

Finally... don't be so hard on yourself. You obviously did what you needed to do - you didn't go down. You didn't wreck. It did make you uncomfortable enough to feel you need some practice - so practice.

Oh yeah... throw some clean underwear in your saddle or tool bag so you don't have to walk around all day in the pair you were wearing when you did your panic stop.

 

When I ride on the freeway, I ride 70 in the right lane and pretty much get passed like I'm standing still but that's as fast as I feel comfortible in heavy traffic and I usually have plenty of space to stop. I have ridden much faster on the freeway if traffic is light or non existant.

 

practice emergency stops.

 

It's always tempting to get on it and stay with the traffice, or even pass. I make a habit of giving myself enough room even if it slows me down. I don't need to get anywhere that fast. On the highway use the 12 second rule.

 

[QUOTE=Marksman;3884206]
The locked rear brake. Panic set it, I jammed the brakes. It may happen again, I can’t say it won’t. How do you not do that?
[QUOTE]

Glad you made it through.

ABS would have prevented this, allowed you to maintain control, and keep your underwear a little cleaner. For those of you who discount the benefits of ABS and say that it's only good on wet surfaces, this is a good example when it would have paid for itself.

For those of your contemplating a new bike purchase, get ABS.

 

+1 on that. The thing is to not be impatient, and remember THEY have fenders and air bags, and you DON'T. When I was younger this sort of crap used to really **** me off, these days I just expect cagers to be ******** and take it in stride.

Here in Colorado we have a law (about a year of so old) that says drivers have to only use the left lane for passing. You can get a ticket for cruising along in the left lane when there is no one in the right lane. Not sure how many people got stung by this, but from what I see it hasn't had much of an impact on how ******** drive.

One thing you might try - since this is your usual route to and from work.... REMEMBER where the areas are where there isn't much visibility. When you approach one of these areas, slow down just a bit to open up enough space between you and the guy in front of you to act as a buffer.

 

Thanks for letting me talk it through. No way can my wife know about this. I think thinking and talking through it will help.
I went out at lunch and looked everything over. There are some crazy looking skid marks on the tire. On one spot it looks to go sidewall to sidewall. I'll put it on the lift tonight and get a better look.
Ugh, Also see a nail in the tire. I can only assume that since I have tubes it hasn't got all the way in. Haven't decided if I want to pull it out now or when I get home.
Hey, things could be a whole lot worse!
More space, more space.....